November 2018 Summaries

The author, who initially doubted working remotely as an accountant, discovered a 100% distributed company called Zapier that offered such opportunities. They set up a home office and found benefits like saving time and money, reducing their carbon footprint, and improving their health and well-being. The transition to remote work was smoother than expected, with the author adapting to video conferencing meetings, using public channels in Slack for communication, and collaborating on cloud-based apps. Tools like Quickbooks Online, Google Docs, and Notejoy facilitated teamwork and productivity, while Zapier's automated workflows (Zaps) helped decrease mundane tasks and stay organized. With the right applications and team, remote accounting work is achievable.

Facebook lead ads provide a powerful way to gather data from active Facebook users, but simply acquiring leads isn't worth much unless you nurture them. To stand out and catch customers' attention, businesses need to try something different with their Facebook lead ad audience. This can be achieved through various unique strategies such as creating a custom choose-your-own-adventure-style chatbot responder, quizzes that continue the question or theme posed by the original ad, retargeted video ads for visually appealing products, inviting leads to a private Slack channel, and more. Each strategy has its best use case, such as segmenting audiences based on how they respond to chat questions with Facebook chatbots or sending personalized welcome videos for large-ticket sales. By applying these strategies, businesses can nurture their Facebook lead ad audience in a way that sets them apart from the competition and increases the likelihood of converting leads into customers.

David Allen first published his book "Getting Things Done" in 2001, which is still relevant today. His methodology, GTD, emphasizes the importance of creating a system that allows individuals to unload their thoughts and ideas, and find clarity through this process. Allen believes that productivity is not about working harder or faster, but rather about creating space and clarity to be present with whatever one is doing. He also stresses the importance of reflection time and taking breaks to rest the brain. GTD has been adapted by many individuals and groups, and its principles apply universally, regardless of age or profession. Allen's work has influenced the development of various productivity tools and apps, but he believes that AI-powered systems are not yet ready to fully support GTD. Ultimately, an ideal system would integrate all relevant information and allow for seamless connections between different data points, making it easier to stay organized and focused.

Trello, a Kanban-style project management tool, offers versatile solutions for organizing various tasks, from work projects to personal goals, using visual boards that can be customized with lists and cards. It is particularly useful for procrastinators who enjoy structuring their tasks with color-coded labels, subtasks, and due dates, transforming them into visual workflows that can be easily managed and reorganized. Trello's boards can be adapted for a wide range of applications, including project management, Agile workflows, sales pipelines, marketing campaigns, editorial calendars, social media planning, meeting agendas, job applicant tracking, personal productivity, financial planning, media backlogs, recipe collections, household chores, event planning, and travel itineraries. The tool's flexibility is enhanced by Power-Ups, which add features such as time tracking and file management, and its integration with Zapier allows for connecting Trello to thousands of other apps to create automated workflows. Despite some limitations, Trello remains a popular choice for users who appreciate its simplicity and visual approach to task management.

You want to improve your visibility on LinkedIn to boost your professional presence, whether you're actively looking for a new job or passively considering new opportunities. To create an optimized profile, start by adding a professional photo that grabs attention, and include essential details like location and industry. Craft a compelling summary section that showcases your career accomplishments, values, and unique strengths, using the first person and focusing on key pieces of information. Complete your experience section with bullet points or stories about your job roles, and list relevant skills with endorsements to demonstrate your expertise. Customize your headline with keywords, stay active on the network by connecting with others, joining groups, posting updates, and writing articles. Finally, add flair to your profile by including a cover image, customizing your URL, and soliciting recommendations from clients, managers, and peers. By following these tips, you can take advantage of LinkedIn for more than just job hunting and build your professional brand.

Pizza to the Polls, a non-partisan non-profit organization founded by three members of the Zapier team, aims to make in-person voting more enjoyable by delivering pizzas to polling locations. The initiative was born out of the need to address long lines at polling places during the 2016 US presidential election and has since grown into a nationwide effort, with over 10,000 pizzas delivered and $400,000 raised. To scale up operations, the team used automation tools like Zapier to streamline tasks such as verifying polling location addresses and finding local pizza places, allowing them to focus on other aspects of the process and increase donations by nearly eight times compared to the previous year.

Messenger Funnels, a digital agency, was struggling with manual data analysis and reporting, which took around 30 hours per week from their team. To solve this issue, they found an app automation tool called Zapier, which automated the process of sending data between apps used by clients, like ManyChat, an all-in-one messenger marketing platform. With Zapier, Messenger Funnels was able to save two hours per client and automate tasks such as registering leads for webinars and calculating conversions. The company now focuses on fulfilling customer promises, having removed time-intensive manual work from their team's plates.

Google One-tap is a new feature aimed at simplifying the login process by enabling users to sign in to websites with a single click, enhancing the popular "Sign in with Google" button by reducing the authentication flow. While it offers a streamlined experience, it presents some user experience challenges, such as obscuring important UI elements and being mistaken for ads. Developers have found ways to integrate One-tap more smoothly into website design by utilizing the OpenYOLO-Web specification to reposition iframes. However, issues arise when users mistakenly log into the wrong account due to the display of multiple Google accounts, leading to potential confusion, especially on platforms like Zapier that require frequent re-authentication. To mitigate these problems, developers have implemented solutions like automatic sign-in for eligible users and storing login information in cookies to guide users back to the correct account. Despite these hurdles and security concerns related to iframe manipulation, Google One-tap remains in closed beta and is seen as a promising tool for reducing barriers to account creation, with expectations for further improvements to enhance its usability and security.

The article highlights eight learning management systems (LMS) that can help businesses deliver effective training to their employees. The LMS solutions covered meet several important criteria, including easy course creation, assessments, analytics, and reporting features. The article reviews each of the eight selected LMS platforms, including TalentLMS for pre-built courses, GoToTraining for live online training, Coassemble for visually rich courses, Teamie for a social learning experience, eFront for skill-gap testing, Lessonly for practice-based learning, AdaptiveU for creating a simple training portal, and Litmos LMS for bundling courses into learning paths. Each platform offers unique features and benefits, such as gamification and certification with TalentLMS, live online training tools with GoToTraining, visually appealing course creation with Coassemble, social learning experience with Teamie, skill-gap testing with eFront, practice-based learning with Lessonly, simple training portal setup with AdaptiveU, and learning paths with Litmos LMS. The article provides a detailed review of each platform, including their pricing and Zapier integrations, to help businesses choose the best LMS for their needs.

The concept of a four-day work week has been around for nearly a century, with economist John Maynard Keynes predicting it in 1930 and even Richard Nixon supporting the idea in the 1950s. The idea gained momentum in the 1990s with France's implementation of reduced work hours, and now several European countries are experimenting with shorter work weeks. A study conducted by New Zealand firm Perpetual Guardian found that reducing their work week from 40 to 32 hours resulted in increased employee satisfaction, productivity, and motivation, with no decrease in job performance. The benefits of a four-day work week include better productivity, more efficient use of time, improved employee satisfaction, team building, lower unemployment rates, environmental benefits, and reduced overhead costs. However, there are also potential drawbacks such as the risk being expensive for employers, not all industries being able to participate, and workers putting in the same hours anyway. To implement a four-day work week, companies can start by encouraging automation, communicating with employees, starting gradually and practicing adaptive scheduling, and tracking productivity. With the growing interest in reducing working hours, it's likely that the four-day work week will become more prevalent in the future.

Shipping options can be complex and costly for eCommerce businesses, with Amazon spending over 12% of its revenue on shipping in 2017. To find the best shipping rates, various tools such as Parcel Monkey, Secureship, ShipGooder, eBay Shipping Calculator, FitShipper, and paid shipping services like ShipStation and ShippingEasy can be used to compare prices and find the cheapest option for each order. These tools can integrate with eCommerce platforms to automatically calculate shipping costs and print shipping labels, saving time and money on shipping. Additionally, comparing rates from different carriers such as USPS, FedEx, and DHL can also help businesses find the most economical shipping options.

Many technology companies are now using applicant tracking systems (ATS) and artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify the candidate recruiting process, but these technologies can also be a barrier for job seekers who don't have the right skills or keywords on their resumes. To increase chances of getting hired, candidates need to familiarize themselves with the new rules of recruitment, optimize their resumes for machines, and use passive job search strategies such as adding their profiles to ATS databases, accepting invitations to talent pools, and bookmarking company career pages. By understanding how these technologies work and tailoring their job search approach accordingly, candidates can get their resume in front of real people and increase their chances of landing a job.